Twinkle
by Tygra's Kitten Hina
Summary: Katarin has always wanted to travel around with an Altaria like her mother used to. She takes the first step in reaching her dream when she helps her dad nurse an injured Swablu back to health.
1. Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

**Hina: **I've had this idea in my head for awhile now. I know I don't write for Pokemon or any other fandom very much but you know, people liked on Mibba. :) Enjoy. I also don't own Pokemon or Swablu or Altaria. They belong to GameFreak and Satoshi Tajiri.

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Twinkle

**Prologue**

_Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star_

_Twinkle, twinkle, little star,_

_How I wonder what you are._

_Above the world so high,_

_Like a diamond in the sky_

_Twinkle, twinkle little star,_

_How I wonder what you are_

She laughed and giggled, her small hands gripping the soft blue feathers of the large sky blue Pokémon on whose back she rode upon. The wind flew through her hair, tossing each brown lock about her face. She felt like she was riding on a cloud. For the soft fluffy white body of this graceful Pokémon resembled a cloud, only its head, with its long, elegant neck, two long fluffy antennae like feathers trailing out of its head, and its tail feathers all poked out of the fluffy cloud like body. The body parts that poked out of the white cloud were blue. It was an Altaria, her favorite Pokémon of all times.

They were flying higher into the sky, breaking through the silvery-white, but fluffy mist of clouds surrounding them. The Altaria was beginning to carry her to new heights now. She could see stars shining in the distance. They were shimmering like tiny moons. Twinkling. Glimmering. If only she could touch them…

Suddenly a voice broke through the chorus of the song that the Altaria chimed. _"Katarin…"_

She blinked her eyes and stared at the Altaria she was riding. Its dark blue eyes stared back at her. It opened its beak, but the beautiful chirping didn't come out. Instead, her name escaped its lips.

"_Katarin."_

Do Pokémon speak? Sure Chatot can mimic the words of their trainers, and Psychic Pokémon can use telepathy to talk, but could Pokémon verbally talk like Humans?

She blinked again as a loud screech met her ears. It was then that vision of stars and clouds faded away and she began to drop back down to Earth, with the Altaria fading away.

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**Hina: **I know this is a bit short, but I do have two other chapters coming up shortly. Thanks for reading. ;)


	2. How I Wonder What You Are

Twinkle

**Chapter One**

_How I Wonder What you Are_

She let out a groan, shifting form under the messy pile that was blankets, pillows, and stuffed Pokémon Plushies. It kept going off, singing her name over and over.

"Katarin." a multi colored bird with a musical note shaped head blinked from atop its perch on the headboard of her bed. Its green eyes twinkled mischievously. It saw a leg poke out from under the soft blue comforter, her toes dangling over the edge of her bed.

"Chatot! Chato…" It chirped. Chatot seemed to grin to itself for the small mimicking bird jumped off the headboard and quickly scuttled over to the series of toes wiggling a bit._ Food! Why they looked like little worms, wriggling and squirming this way and that…_

All it took was one nibble and a scream rung in the air. Tyler, Katarin's father chuckled a bit from over his cup of coffee, smiling to his wife. "Sounds like Chatterbox found himself a new meal this morning." He said teasingly. Marie laughed and shot her husband a slight death glare.

"That's mean, Ty, considering Chatterbox is your Pokémon in the first place." She laughed lightly at seeing her husband wiggling his eyebrows at her. She couldn't help smacking her husband's shoulder in a playful manner. She knew what he meant by that gesture. If it wasn't for Tyler's Chatot, they would never have met, let alone fallen in love. Chatterbox had accidentally repeated a love poem that Tyler rehearsed for her, and well, Tyler's goofiness won her over instantly.

There was a loud squawk and the said Chatterbox of a Pokémon came flying furiously downstairs with their daughter on its tail. She came running down in a flurry of messy brown hair, angry green eyes lit up by the fires of anger, and her Altaria themed pajamas ruffled from where Chatterbox had obviously picking at them.

"Morning, Kat." Tyler said to his daughter as Chatterbox flew to the safety of a perch high above Katarin. His blue eyes looked to his daughter. She was glaring at him, which was to be expected. He just raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "Something wrong?"

"Keep Jukebox-"

"_Chatter_box." Her father and mother corrected.

"_Whatever_! Keep him away from me, Dad! He about tore my little toe off!" Katarin grumbled, plopping down into a chair next to her dad. Chatterbox cooed and started to preen his feathers in an innocent manner much like her Dad.

"_Jukebox! Chatterbox_!" The Chatot sang happily, its little tune ending in a little whistling sound as Marie placed a plate of pancakes before her daughter.

"You know how immature your father and Chatterbox can be. It's best to ignore them." Marie said softly. She gave her daughter a tight squeeze before turning back to the stove where some Pokémon food was simmering. Chatterbox always liked his food to be a bit on the spicy side and very mushy apparently.

"Oh, now that's not nice." Tyler said in mock hurt. Chatterbox chirped again, mimicking his trainer's words.

"_Not nice! Not nice_! Chatot!" Finding it was safe to come down, Chatot flew down from the perch and landed directly on the back of Tyler's chair. "_Not nice_!"

Tyler laughed and offered Chatterbox a piece of bacon, which it happily accepted. His smile faded away at seeing his daughter glowering at them. He gently stroked the top of Chatterbox's head, earning a soft croon from it. "Apologize to Kat now Chatterbox."

The bird blinked, tilting its head to the side. He chirped again and flew over Kat, now circling over her head. "_Apologize, Chatterbox! Apologize_!"

She frowned at the annoying bird. Katarin never really liked bird Pokémon or flying Pokémon for that matter. Beedrill and Combee scared her to death. Dragon types were scary. Flying bug types creeps her out. Small birds like Pidgey were fine, though Spearow spook her a bit. But Chatot, they were just plain annoying.

There is only one Flying Pokémon that Katarin absolutely adored and that was Altaria and its starting evolution, Swablu. Swablu were cute, round, and fluffy. Altaria were elegant, graceful and very beautiful. How she wished that her mother's beloved Pokémon was still alive. Katarin was the name of her mother's partner and did she love her namesake. Katarin the Altaria had died shortly before her sixth birthday and boy did she cry. Her namesake used to greet her every morning before school. It would even be there during recess to play with her. And after school, she would see it waiting for her with her mother.

"_Sorry, Katarin! Sorry_!" Chatterbox's squawk broke through the haze of memories and she saw the said Chatot look down at her from atop her head. Two pairs of green eyes greeted each other. She had to admit, Chatterbox meant well. He just had a mischievous streak to him. Allowing herself to smile, Katarin reached up and stroked his head.

"It's alright, Chatter." She said softly, allowing the bird to climb onto her arm where it started pecking at her plate.

"Chatterbox! I got your food right here, you little Grumpiggy!" Marie laughed as she picked up the said bird's food bowl and dumped the contents of the pot into it. She saw Chatterbox give her a wary stare. "It's not hot. So come and get it."

"_Not hot! Come and get it_!" the Chatot repeated and it flew to where Marie had placed his bowl next to a sleeping Liepard that was curled up on a pillow. The Liepard merely opened a golden eye and just yawned before curling back up. Chatterbox took one look at the Liepard and flew to the Cat's head, starting to rouse it out of its slumber. "_Leo. Wake up! Leeeeeo_!"

"Dear Poke God! Chatterbox, leave Leo alone!" Marie said, running over to save her beloved Liepard. Leo was one of Marie's close partners from her own Pokémon journey. It was the first Pokémon her old Altaria had helped her catch. He was her first victory and her first capture.

Leo just let out a warning growl, his amber eyes glaring at Chatterbox. He didn't like being woken up during his midmorning naps.

Katarin shook her head, stuffing some food into her mouth. At least she wasn't Chatterbox's only victim in the mornings. She still felt sorry for Leo though.

"So, what's on your agenda for today? Are you going to help Professor Rowan today? Or what?" Katarin heard her father ask as Chatterbox avoided a Fury Swipe from a grumpy Leo. She shrugged, not knowing what she wanted to do.

Having just recently moved from the Johto region to Sinnoh was really a big change in her life. Her mother wanted to leave behind beautiful Blackthorne City to abandon the memories of her beloved Altaria. They came here to Sandgem Town to begin anew, but was it really needed?

"I think I'll just wander around town or something." Tyler heard his daughter mumble. He frowned a bit. He knew what was going on in the girl's head. She was thinking of her namesake – his wife's precious Altaria. He missed her as well. The elegant Altaria that would sing at night time to sooth little Katarin's fears. Oh how they all missed her.

Satisfied that the annoying flying rodent was away, Leo yawned and curled back onto his pillow, purring lightly at his Trainer's hands running through his yellow spotted purple fur. Marie just sighed. "I think I'm going to have to put Chatterbox's food somewhere else." She mumbled, delicately touching her Liepard's scythe shaped tail.

"You can always just let him eat scraps from us." Tyler pointed out, but his wife just glowered at him. She didn't want any of their Pokémon to be fat and overweight from eating human food. "Kidding, dear."

"_Kidding, dear! Kidding_!" Chatterbox repeated happily. It then blinked and looked over at Leo, "_Kidding, Leeeeo! Leo! Kidding_!"

Leo just growled softly in response.

Maria's green eyes lit up and she smiled broadly at her husband. "Tyler, why don't you show Kat what you found earlier this morning?" she asked innocently. But Kat could sense the hidden message in her mother's tone. The girl sat straighter now, her eyes staring between her parents.

"Show me what?" she asked.

Tyler frowned a bit, running a hand through his brown locks. "Marie, are you sure? I mean it's so weak and I highly doubt showing her a dying Pokémon would make things any better on her or it." Her father was hesitant – no, he was reluctant! – To show her whatever her mother was talking about. But she found herself being a curious Skitty.

Seeing that his daughter was really eager, he sighed and nodded. "Alright, it's in the greenhouse, but be careful!" Tyler shook his head at seeing Katarin taking off so quickly. He quickly got up and trailed after her with Chatterbox on his shoulder.

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**Hina: **Sorry about the lack of updates, school's been in the way again, but thanks for reading! :)


	3. Up Above the World so High

Twinkle

**Chapter Two**

_Up Above the World so High_

The hot house was hot and humid, but it was to be expected. Plants and Grass type Pokémon were inside and of course, it almost looked like a miniature ranch or something for a small steady stream of water flowed through a little crack in the soft earth below. This was how Tyler and Marie wanted their greenhouse to be. They wanted to make an eco-friendly greenhouse – one that would be safe for Humans and Pokémon alike. A large Venus flytrap like Pokémon dozed peacefully, its vine like arms keeping it propped up from the confines of its large bed of mulch. Katarin could hear the wheezing sounds Carnivine made as it slept.

She shivered at seeing the plant Pokémon. She loved all Pokémon overall, but there were a few type that spooked her or creeped her out and Carnivine was at the top of the list. She quickly moved past the sleeping Carnivine and to catch up with her Dad. She saw a few Oddish eyeing her curiously but the instant she looked at them, they popped back into the ground, but of course, they were shy Pokémon after all.

"Over here, Kat." She heard her father call out. Katarin quickly ran over to the actual plant portion of the greenhouse where smaller potted plants littered the corner of Tyler's work place. Her father was the plant enthusiast and he loved Grass type Pokémon despite having started out with Chatterbox. Chatterbox chirped happily at seeing a Noctowl roosting on a nearby tree and quickly darted at it. The Noctowl just hooted softly, turning its head in a 360 degree angle. Its beady eyes stared quizzically at the Chatot.

"_Noctowl_! _Noc-noc_!" Chatterbox squeaked, landing on a branch outside of the Owl's little hole. Tyler and Katarin both shook their heads with a smile before turning back to the table.

"Hoo!" They heard Noctowl say in response as Tyler knelt under the table.

"What is it, Dad?" Katarin asked. Her eyes watched her father curiously as he brought out a small wicker basket full of what she thought were fluffy white towels. Her dad always kept towels on hand when cleaning up his work area. Her gaze studied the basket for a second before looking back to her father's grinning face. "Dad? You brought me out here to see some basket of towels?"

"No, look closer, Kat." Tyler said softly. He reached out and peeled back the top layer and much to his daughter's surprise, she saw a fluffy cotton ball, well it looked like a blue and white ball, but as soon as it opened its dark blue eyes, Kat saw what it really was.

"A… a Swablu!" Katarin squealed, but she immediately clamped her mouth shut at seeing the Swablu shrink away from her squeal. Her lips curled back into a frown, her green eyes going to her dad. The Swablu chirped in fright, diving back under the blankets. It was then that she saw the bandages around one of its fluffy white wings. "What happened to it, Dad?"

Tyler frowned with a sigh. He ran his hand through his hair. "I'm afraid Leo is what happened to it. You know how he likes to tease Pokémon smaller than him." He said almost disdainfully. Katarin nodded, remembering how the next door neighbor's Lillipup had been clawed at. She blinked and she crossed her arms.

"So, why are you showing me this Swablu?" she asked curiously. She wanted to hear from her father whether she can touch the baby Swablu or not. It was taking all of her willpower not to cuddle the ball of fluff.

Becoming bored with the sleepy Noctowl, Chatterbox flew from the tree. He landed next to the basket with the baby Swablu and he started to whistle at it. "_Swabluuuuuuuu. Chatot!_"

"Well," Chatterbox's owner began, gently stroking the top of the Chatot's head. He looked at his daughter with a stern gaze. "Your mother thinks it might be good for you if you get an early birthday present, but apparently, Leo's little mouse and cat game left the poor thing quite scared; I mean it won't even sing like they're known to do."

Tyler frowned at Chatterbox trying to jump into the basket and he gently pulled the bird away from Swablu's trembling form. "Chatterbox, honestly." He chided. Chatterbox just blinked and chirped at his trainer, echoing his words.

"_Chatterbox! Honestly_!" Chatterbox squawked, stretching out his wings in the process. He then started to sing, "_Twinkle, twinkle, little star_!"

"Real cute, Chatter. Now why don't you scatter?" Katarin said annoyed. Her green eyes glared at the bird, making it fly to the safety of Noctowl's tree. She could hear it singing the song once more, well the rest of it.

"_How I wonder what you are!_" Chatterbox whistled softly, preening its feathers again.

"Anyways, I was wondering if you would like to help me nurse it back to health." Tyler ignored his partner's cat calls aimed at them and he offered his daughter a smile. "What do you say, Kat?"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement and she nodded. Of course she would take on the challenge. Swablu and Altaria were close to rare in these parts. "Yes! Yes!" she breathed. Katarin smiled at hearing her dad laugh a bit and he nodded.

"If we're successful, you can make Swablu your partner for your journey next month. So, be patient and kind to it. You're in charge of caring for it, you hear me?" Tyler's tone made his daughter stand at attention and he saw her giving him a militaristic salute.

"Yes, sir!" Katarin said cheerfully.

"_Sir! Yes, Sir!_" Chatterbox mimicked. He chirped again and circled the Father and Daughter through the head. "_Sir!_"

Katarin couldn't stop herself from laughing at the silly antics of her dad's Pokémon. She had to admit, despite her little spats with the annoying bird, she has a soft spot for Chatterbox. It was just his energy she couldn't handle.

It was nighttime and just after breakfast as she snuck into the Greenhouse. With her parents' permission, Katarin had brought a sleeping bag, a few books, and a small lantern to the greenhouse with her. She was allowed to sleep in the greenhouse so that she could better watch over the injured Swablu. With her sleeping bag rolled out onto the ground and the small bag of books lying next to it, the girl walked over to the table. Her dad had left Swablu's basket on top out of the table so that it wouldn't feel so stuffy from being under the little cubby hole.

Hearing some movement, Swablu opened its blue eyes, carefully peeking its head out of the soft blankets. It saw her coming and retreated back under the white fluff. Its heart started to pound from within its little chest as the basket shift a bit. Was the girl going to tip it over for meanness? Or was It going to be fed to the purple feline after all?

"Bluuu…." Swablu shivered at the thought and began to tremble.

Katarin frowned at seeing the small bird shaking. She placed the basket close to her sleeping bag. Gently reaching into the basket, the girl rearranged the covers and cushion inside, hoping it would make Swablu feel a little less scared and a little warmer. She knew from her intense research on Swablu and Altaria that they preferred warm, soft nests. Her lips poked out into a smile at seeing relief wash over the baby Swablu.

"I thought that a little heating pad would make you happier." She said softly, earning a baleful look from the Pokémon. Swablu snuggled into the newfound warmth at its feet. The bedding did feel warmer than before. The two stray feathers poking out of its head quivered with delight, signifying that the Swablu was content.

Katarin giggled a bit and reached into the bag, pulling out some Pokémon food that her mom had prepared for the baby Pokémon. Swablu blinked, opening its eyes at the sweet smell of the food. The pudgy bird blinked at again. Its stomach rumbled with hunger. Not knowing what else to do other than sitting in the basket starving, Swablu emerged from the nest of blankets and towels. It knew that Katarin could see it, but it didn't matter at the moment. It eyed the little seeds and berries in the bag hungrily.

Her lips curled back into a smile and she reached into the small bag. Pulling out a small handful of seeds, she made a small pile of the Bird food next to the basket. While she wasn't hoping to be friends with the Swablu in an instant, she did hope it would come out and eat. Coax Swablu out of the blankets, _check_. Next part? Getting it out of the basket to eat.

The food was so close yet so far. Little Swablu climbed onto the edge of the basket, but unfortunately, due to the injury in its cloud-like wing, its balance wasn't very stable and the poor thing started to tilt to the side, almost going over rim of the basket. Swablu squeaked in fright as it saw the ground coming at it, but much to its surprise, it didn't land on the hard ground. Instead, it landed on something soft and warm. It wasn't as warm as the next of blankets, but still just as refreshing. Swablu chirped happily and snuggled more into the soft flesh. The girl's scent was much closer now.

Katarin breathed a soft sigh of relief at having caught the bird before it could injure itself further. Swablu felt so soft and the way it snuggled into her arms was adorable. Smiling more, the nine year old gently placed the Swablu next to pile of food and gently stroked the top of its head. She was greeted with a soft chirp that almost sounded like a little thrum that an Altaria would make when happy.

Baby Swablu began to peck at the ground, sweeping up the bird food into its mouth with its pink tongue. From the first seed down to the last berry, it filled its little belly up and once it did, Swablu looked up to the girl, expecting more. It looked at the bag with much eagerness. Katarin laughed and laid more food down, only a bit closer to her this time. Now that she coaxed her out of her safety nest, Katarin was going to coax the bird to come closer to her. Swablu blinked and chirped, flapping one wing in excitement before creeping closer. It was getting a bit bolder now.

She watched Swablu peck at the ground with a happy chirp. It was quite piggish – even more so than Chatterbox. A chuckle escaped her lips and she smiled again. Swablu was within reach now. Gathering her courage, Kat lifted her hand. She reached out for the Swablu, slowly and carefully, so as not to startle it. The bird froze at feeling her fingers grazing the back of its head. She froze as well. Swablu slowly looked up at her, nearly turning its body around in the process. It seemed like forever as the two stared at each other, sizing each other up, but it was only a few seconds before Swablu went back to eating the berries on the ground, pecking at the dirt below.

Her hand was brought to rest at the base of Swablu's head, where she gently stroked its sky blue feathers. They were as soft as the down of a newly hatched Swablu, which she wouldn't doubt the baby Swablu was newly hatched. Katarin giggled a bit and continued to stroke the Swablu, earning a little light thrum from it as she did so.

Once the Swablu was done eating, she let out a soft yawn, blinking blearily and sleepily at Katarin. She chirped softly in content. Katarin was lying on her side, beginning to nod off with her head propped up on her elbow. Chirping softly, the Swablu blinked. The small ball of cottony fluff reached out with its uninjured wing and swept up the crumbs from its food, pushing them into…

Where should the crumbs go? Swablu chirped balefully in annoyance, its need to clean snapping it back to attention. The blue bird gently looked around before sweeping the crumbs to closer to the basket. It gently swept the crumbs into the basket to the best of its ability before hopping over to Katarin's side and snuggled into the softness and warmth of the blanket and the girl's arm. Letting out one last chirp, Swablu yawned once more and closed its eyes and fell into a gentle blanket of sleep.


	4. Like a Diamond in the Sky

Twinkle

**Chapter 4:**

_Up Above the World so High_

Golden eyes peered through the semi-darkness of the early morning twilight. The golden pools were unblinking as a sleek cream colored body slipped through the loose glass board in the wall. Its whiskers gave a little twitch as it sniffed the air. The red jewel set into its forehead glowed a bright red, signifying that it was on the prowl. Once it was all the way in, the Cat sniffed the air again. The smell of the Bird was nearby. Its prey was close. A soft growl escaped its throat – it was unsatisfied and hungry. The golden eyes blinked again and it set off, creeping through the Greenhouse.

There were a lot of vegetation and a lot of Grass and flying type Pokémon, but none of the Pokémon was what it was looking for. Slinking through the darkness, the Persian carefully treaded over the vines of a sleeping Carnivine and continued to follow the scent of the missing prey. It finally saw the source of the scent. The Persian saw a basket full of soft blankets and towels. The scent was a bit stronger here. It crept a bit closer to the sleeping form of a human girl fast asleep on the ground, unaware that its prey was exactly right under its nose. Slinking up to the basket, Persian gently pawed at the basket, its sharp claws scraping through the white cloth that was lined inside it.

An unsatisfied hiss broke through its mouth.

Where is its prey? Where did the Bird go? The smell of nuts, berries, and seeds filled the Cat's nostrils and the Feline suddenly poked its wet nose to the ground. The Bird's scent was here mixed among the small crumbs of food. Its roughly padded tongue lapped at the ground, sweeping up some of the crumbs and some unwanted dirt. Mixed in with the sweet taste of berries, the salty seeds, and the foul tasting earth was the bird. Its whiskers twitched again.

The Bird was still nearby. With its eyes gleaming again, the Cat purred gently and walked back towards the sleeping girl. Once it was towering over the girl, it looked down at a strange blue and white cottony ball of fluff.

Its eyes went wide with hunger.

Prey! Its prey was here!

The cottony blue ball of fluff trembled a bit, letting out a soft chirp in its sleep.

Baby Swablu shivered at feeling a little bit of a cold draft and snuggled more into Katarin's body, the two long feathers straying from the top of her head quivering a bit. Once comfortable, she tried to go back to her peaceful slumber, but there was a creepy feeling – a whitewash of feelings that overshadowed the peacefulness of the early morning hours. Swablu was used to getting up early, but not this early. Blinking blearily, Swablu opened her eyes and blinked again. Her blurry vision was showing a pale cream color mixing with gold and red.

The colors of her dream were so pretty…

"Bluu…" the Chick cooed softly. But a growl broke her from her sleepy state and she blinked again. The blurriness faded away as her vision straightened itself out. Large gold eyes stared at it with a red jewel shining brightly against the Cat's fur. It was a cat, not a rainbow. It was theCat that had tried to eat it.

Cat? Swablu blinked for the umpteenth time and took a better glance at the cat figure. It was then that her heart started to pound.

The Persian hissed loudly, letting out a yowl before pouncing. Luckily Katarin had been cradling Swablu in the safety of her arms for the claws and teeth sinking into the skin of her arms woke her up.

"Ow! Chatterbox!" Katarin yelled loudly. The Persian immediately jumped back, its creamy fur bristling at the girl being awake. Katarin just grumbled under her breath and just as the Swablu had done, she blinked blearily at the Persian, but she was quicker on the uptake than the baby Swablu she held in her arms.

"OK, you're not, Chatterbox. You're a Persian." The girl whispered quietly. She felt Swablu trembling in her arms, its soft beak being pressed against her chest. "A wild one…"

"Bluuu…. Swa…."

"It's ok, baby Swablu." Katarin crooned to the soft cottony bird, speaking in a gentle tone. Her eyes never left the Persian as it glowered at her. Its ears were perked forward, its claws out and ready for an attack.

The Persian growled, baring its teeth at the Human. It wanted its prey. It wanted food! It wanted the Bird! The red gem set into its forehead glowed and this time, the Cat Pokémon hissed. A projectile of rocks shot forth from the small ruby set into the middle of the Cat's forehead.

Katarin let out a scream as the rocks flew at her.

Leo jumped to his feet at hearing a faint, echoing scream. His ear twitched in nervousness. He could feel his fur rippling with fright. Pokémon can always sense when trouble is around. The Liepard quickly shot off, running out of the little cat and doggie door that Tyler had set up for him and out into the early morning. Chatterbox sang overhead, repeating one word over and over.

"Help! Help! Chatot!" Chatterbox twittered, circling overhead. His green eyes spotted Leo running across the lawn, making his way towards the greenhouse. The bird immediately nosedived towards Leo, only to stop himself, flapping his wings to keep his multicolored body floating in midair. "Leeeeo. Danger!"

Leo just growled softly at him and started sniffing around. He felt Chatterbox landing gently on his upraised tail, still chattering away. His fur bristled at sensing the startling presence. The other Cat was back – Swablu's attacker!

His golden gaze flickered back to Chatterbox.

"Liepurrr." It crooned at the bird before scouring the glass wall of the green house for a way in.

"Get help! Get help!" Chatterbox sang, taking off into the air now.

Once he saw that the bird was flying towards the window of Tyler and Marie's bedroom, Leo starting clawing at the ground near a loose glass board he found; the Cat managed to dig a small hole just big enough for him to squeeze through without much of a strain.

Swablu felt Katarin holding her firmly against her chest, its two antenna-like feathers quivering against the girl's chin. Its small blue body quivered with fright as the stone projectiles the Persian called forth finally appeared in full.

Katarin quickly leapt out of the way with the baby Swablu in her arms, causing the wild Persian's Power Gem to miss and hit the nearby work bench instead.

The Persian just growled in irritation and quickly leapt at her, the claws of its front paws beginning to glow. There was no way its Prey was getting away this time.

Katarin felt her body becoming unbalanced as she landed on her feet. She was never good at dodging any kind of attacks in general, not even when she was playing around with Leo, but even then Leo would only tackle her and gently bite her. But the Pokémon attacking her wasn't her mother's playful Liepard, it was a Persian – an angry, irritated wild Persian and it wasn't playing around. She didn't want to let go of the trembling Bird Pokémon in her arms just so she could grab onto something to steady her balance.

She saw some Oddish scuttling out of the line of fire and directly behind the growling Persian was…

She finally lost her balance. The Persian went to pounce onto her, ready to use a series of Fury Swipes when a loud snarl filled the air and the purple blur appeared out of nowhere, landing on top of it.

"Leo!" Katarin's voice came out as a surprised squeak as she finally toppled over in surprise. Her mother's Liepard had appeared in the nick of time.

Leo sank his teeth into the cream colored fur lining the scruff of Persian's neck before quickly releasing the enemy Cat. His tail glowed a dark purple, signifying the use of Night Slash and in one fluid motion, just as the Persian was going to respond with a series of Fury Swipes, his tail came in contact its opponent's face, knocking it away from his trainer's offspring. He landed gracefully on all fours while the Persian landed right into the messy mulch belonging to a startled Carnivine, which had used its vinelike limbs to pull itself into a nearby tree.

Leo just growled, standing protectively in front Katarin as she sat up.

"Leo!" Katarin said again, earning a quick glance from the said Cat. She quickly wracked her brain for all the possible moves that her mother could've taught him.

Night Slash, Captivate…

Curse her mother for choosing such an unbalanced selection of attacks!

The Persian was beginning to recover from the stunning blow of Leo's Night Slash now.

Attract, Thunder wave… That's it!

The Swablu trembling in her arms, Katarin shouted out the first order that popped into her head. "Leo, Thunder Wave, now!"

The Liepard gave an approving growl. Closing his eyes, Leo allowed a buildup of electricity to course through his body, making the yellow spots on his fur to shine more than normal. When the Cat opened its eyes, Katarin saw what looked like a spark of lightning raging in his eyes and before she knew it, a small spark of electric shot from Leo's mouth, striking the wild Persian right in its red gem, paralyzing it instantly.

Her heart leapt with happiness at seeing the successful results of her ordering her mother's partner in an attack. The joy was short lived as a growl pervaded her bubble and Katarin found herself gasping at seeing the Persian struggling to get to its feet, fighting through its paralysis. But she couldn't give out an order because her father's voice rang through the air.

"Chatterbox, Sing!"

"Chatterbox, Sing!" Chatterbox echoed, flying in. The multicolored bird immediately landed on top of Leo's head and it started to croon, singing in a gentle chirp.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star  
How the Swablu wonder what you are  
Up above where the Altaria fly so high  
Like a Volbeat in the sky  
Twinkle, twinkle, little star  
How the Swablu love you as you are!"

Persian started to sway back and forth, its eyes beginning to grow heavy. As Chatterbox's tune became softer and gentler, Persian found itself getting sleepier. There was something about the Bird's song that was soothing – hypnotizing, mesmerizing. Soon the Cat fell onto its side, falling into the arms of slumber.

It was then that Chatot stopped singing. The bird quickly flew to Katarin's shoulder and whistled at her. "Katarin! Kat!"

For once, Katarin was glad to see her father's beloved Bird Pokémon and she stroked the top of his head with one hand while holding the now calm Swablu with the other. "Thanks, Chatter." She said softly.

"Are you alright, Katarin?" Tyler asked, after examining the sleeping Persian. He quickly walked up to his daughter and embraced her, looking her over for any injuries.

"I'm okay, Dad." The nine year old mumbled against his shirt as she was embraced by him. When the hug ended, she looked down at Swablu, who just chirped up at her. "I think Swablu's ok, too, right, baby Swablu?"

The Chick crooned at her, the two long feathers on its head quivering with delight. Her beady dark blue eyes sparkled with happiness.

Tyler just laughed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck with a goofy grin. "It looks like you have a way with the Swablu like your mom." He said teasingly to his daughter.

Katarin rolled her eyes. "Mom's the one with the real talent. I just…" she didn't actually know what she had. She looked back down at feeling Swablu nuzzling her side. The girl couldn't help but smile at this. "You're welcome, Swablu."

Leo growled softly and pressed his own head against the back of Kat's leg, wanting a reward of sorts. Katarin just giggled. She stroked the top of his head, scratching his favorite spot behind his left ear.

"You, too, Leo. Thanks for protecting us."

"Liepurrr..." the purple feline purred a loud thrumming rumbling in the back of his throat.

"Leeooo! Thank youuuu!" Chatterbox chirped, taking to the air again. He then started to circle Tyler overhead, his green eyes staring down at his trainer.

Tyler smiled and shook his head. Turning his gaze to Katarin, he gripped his daughter's shoulder with a soft squeeze, "What do you say we all go get some breakfast. I'll have Officer Jenny take the Wild One away so it can get back home safely."

"Alright, but I think you need to apologize to Leo first, Dad." Kat smiled at seeing the confusion etched onto her father's face.

"For what?" she heard him ask.

Leo glared at the Man who dared called himself his Trainer's Mate, feeling his fur bristling from the irritation. His ears laid flat against his skull. The Liepard's intimidating appearance made Tyler take a step back in surprise, his blue eyes widening.

"What?"

"I think Leo's trying to tell you that it was the Persian who attacked Swablu yesterday morning, not him." In order to prove her point, Katarin carefully placed the Swablu onto the ground before Leo, earning a quizzical blink from the baby Pokémon.

Swablu blinked in confusion at being placed onto the ground. At first she cooed softly, shaking her entire body before looking up at Katarin, as best as she could anyways and then her gaze turned to a pair of golden eyes staring down at her. The presence of Leo startled her at first, but after a split second of looking the Pokémon over, she chirped again. The fluffy blue Chick then skipped closer to Leo, beginning to press her cheek against the Feline's leg.

Tyler's eyes went up in surprise as his wife's Pokémon licked at the Chick's face. "Well, I'll be a Mankey's uncle." He muttered, blinking while staring at how friendly the two Pokémon were. Leo was purring gently to the little Bird chirping at it while Swablu just chirped happily. His lips curled back into an embarrassed smile as his fingers tousled his dark brown hair. "I guess I mistook Leo's actions for an attack on the poor thing when he was just licking at the little one's injuries."

Katarin just laughed and shook her head again. She scooped up the Baby Swablu, being careful of its wing as she did so and hugged the happy Bird. "Ignore him, Swablu; Dad's just blind as a Zubat without his glasses."

Her words earned a gentle thrumming sound from the baby Swablu, the little Chick snuggling more into the crevice of her arms.

"Alright, that's enough; let's go before your mother starts to worry. We all know how she'll send out her Lopunny to find us." Tyler gently touched his daughter's shoulder again, ushering Katarin out of the greenhouse with Leo and Chatterbox trailing after them.


End file.
